Post-defeat, rebuilding evades Congress

The state Congress, which has been targeting Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for running a "one-man" show, has found itself in a peculiar situation in which the party neither has a structure nor floor leaders in the Legislative Assembly and Council.

After the Lok Sabha poll drubbing, the Congress high command dissolved the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), except president Dinesh Gundu Rao and his deputy Eshwar Khandre.

The party was to initiate the process of rebuilding in June, but the political crisis that led to the collapse of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, came in the way. Then, the flood situation kept party leaders busy with relief work.

On the other hand, there is no clarity on who will be picked to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Council. Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was scheduled to meet party leaders on this matter on July 30, but had to rush back to participate in the Rajya Sabha session. Subsequent developments regarding Jammu & Kashmir has kept the entire Congress high command busy.

"Moreover, the confusion surrounding who should become the Congress president has contributed to the delay in the party organisation process here," a senior Congress leader said. Rao told DH that the process of appointing office-bearers will start after August 20.

The party had drawn up some plans on how it should go about appointing office-bearers, but the fall of the coalition will mean starting from scratch. The party will now have to accommodate leaders who were ministers and appointed to various boards and corporations and placate them with party positions.

Picking a Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly may prove to be tricky. "While Siddaramaiah is the frontrunner, a section of leaders has told the high command that his credibility was hit because of the fall of the coalition. Those loyal to him were among MLAs who rebelled,” a source said.

Former ministers H K Patil, M B Patil and D K Shivakumar are understood to have laid claim to lead the party in the Assembly.

The likes of C M Ibrahim, S R Patil, K C Kondaiah, Ivan D’Souza, C Raghu Achar among others are said to have thrown their hats for the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Council.

Shivakumar is speculated to be in contention to replace Rao as the party's state chief. "I don't want any post. I'm just a legislator," he said.